IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on May 6, 2016 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


TWO-OUT THUNDER: The RailRiders conjured up some two-out magic all night en route to a 10-1 rout of the IronPigs on Thursday night. The RailRiders' third straight win assured them of a winning road trip. SWB has bested the IronPigs in three of the teams' four IronRail Series meetings on the young year.

NOBODY'S PERFECT: Former No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel (3-1) retired the first eight RailRiders he faced. Then the wheels came off. Nine-hole hitter Pete Kozma, who entered the game hitting .139, singled through the right-side hole with two outs in the third. After Donovan Solano walked, Aaron Judge smashed a home run off the roof of the left-field bar behind the recessed bullpens to ignite a five-run frame. In the sixth, Gary Sanchez smacked a two-out three-run homer of his own to left field for an 8-1 lead. Deibinson Romero rounded out the scoring with a two-out two-run homer to left in the seventh.

I AM THE LAW: Judge's team-leading fifth home run was also his third in seven games played on the road trip and his second in as many days. The blast gave him brief solo ownership of the team lead in RBIs (17). Through seven games played on the road trip he has gone 9-for-27 with six extra-base hits, five walks, just five strikeouts and slashes of .333/.438/.778/1.215. Last night, Judge played left field for the first time in his pro career. Last season he started in center with SWB five times, and moved from right to center during a game on three other occasions. He otherwise had no pro playing experience outside of right field or DH.

DUAL THREAT: Sanchez shares the IL lead in doubles and ranks second with 14 extra-base hits: nine doubles, one triple, four homers. A .175 bat after his first 10 games, he has since gone 17-for-47 with eight extra-base hits, slashing .347/.396/.592/.988 over a dozen games. His three-run homer tied him with Judge for the team lead in RBIs. When he has been behind the plate, opposing base stealers have been caught eight times in 15 attempts (.533). He is one of three ranked IL catchers at 50% or better. He went 2-for-4 yesterday with a three-run homer, a walk and two runs scored in his third straight multi-hit game.

R&R: Rob Refsnyder started in right field for a third straight day. He walked in the third, stretching his consecutive-games-on-base streak to 14, and singled in the seventh. His hit extended the team's longest hitting streak of the season to 10 games. He stands tied with Columbus' Giovanny Urshela for the IL's longest active hitting streak. Refsnyder's run has lifted his average by 75 points (.190-.265). He entered the road trip in a 4-for-30 (.133) funk, but has gone 13-for-31 (.419).

PORK GRINDER: Starter Richard Bleier (1-0) continued his dominance of Lehigh Valley hitters. He induced 13 groundouts over seven innings of one-run ball. Including his four starts against the IronPigs with Syracuse last season, Bleier has gone seven or more innings and allowed one run or less against the 'Pigs four times. In his five nods against Lehigh Valley he has gone 3-0 with a 1.39 ERA, .216 BAA and 0.90 WHIP. Bleier joined tonight's scheduled starter, Anthony Swarzak, as the lone SWB hurlers to last seven or more innings this season.

NEPA'S OWN: Mountain Top, Pa. native Matt Wotherspoon allowed just one baserunner over two scoreless and hitless innings in his Triple-A debut. The former Crestwood H.S. star joined Russ Canzler as the only NEPA natives to play for SWB. Canzler, a former big leaguer and IL MVP who played for SWB in 2014, recently took a front-office job as the RailRiders' business development executive.

OFF THE RAILS: Before the game, the Yankees called up outfielder/usual leadoff man Ben Gamel...Leading off on Thursday, Donovan Solano singled, walked, stole a bag and scored a run...Over his last 11 games he has gone 16-for-44 (.364)...Lefty James Pazos was optioned back to SWB on his 25th birthday...SWB has homered in a season-high four straight games...SWB homered three times in one game for the first time since May 17, 2015 at Durham...Deibinson Romero's homer was his first hit since May 25, 2015 when he doubled for Indy at Buffalo...He had started his SWB career 0-for-12...Lehigh Valley first baseman Brock Stassi pitched a perfect ninth...The 2015 Eastern League MVP has yet to allow a run in 8.1 pro innings...He also tossed a scoreless inning for Lehigh Valley on April 14 in a 13-1 loss to Pawtucket...All of Lehigh Valley's six hits on Thursday were singles.

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International League Stories from May 6, 2016


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